Tories divided on Theresa May after nightmare speech
Cabinet ministers call to offer support after the PM's party conference speech but some MPs say she is "one crisis from the exit".
Thursday 5 October 2017 17:35, UK
Theresa May is facing a new battle to survive after a disastrous party conference speech that has left some MPs claiming she is on borrowed time.
Downing Street has confirmed that Cabinet ministers have been calling her to offer support after claims that MPs are once again questioning her leadership.
A No 10 source has also declared defiantly that "resignation is not an issue" for the Prime Minister, but some rebel MPs claim she is "one crisis from the exit".
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Newspaper headlines make dismal reading for senior Tories, with words like "ordeal", "farce", "shambles", "nightmare", "chaos", "tragic", "crisis", "disaster" and "wretched" on the front pages.
Her with a spoof P45, then came a coughing fit and by the end of her speech the Tory message was literally falling down around her as letters fell off the slogan on the stage.
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Some of the Prime Minister's critics have claimed her cough was a metaphor for her leadership and that she is finished, but others say she revealed a more human side.
It has also been claimed that after husband Philip gave her an emotional bear hug on the conference platform the Prime Minister cried. But in a tweet, she poked fun at her coughing and spluttering.
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Downing Street has blamed a "conference cold", 28 broadcast interviews and 19 receptions for her croaky voice. But many MPs have claimed it was unwise to pack her diary when she was unwell.
MPs loyal to the Prime Minister are rallying behind her and are angry with the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after his challenges to the PM's authority on Brexit in recent weeks.
It is not yet known whether Mr Johnson, who was accused by colleagues of disloyalty in Manchester, was one of the ministers who called the PM.
But following her speech, the Foreign Secretary did tweet: "Great job by the PM today putting housing at the heart of renewing the British dream."
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Also on Twitter, Tory MP Mark Pritchard said: "For small number of MPs texting MPs asking what we thought of PM's speech (or circling above) one message: there is no vacancy at Number 10!"
And another backbencher, Gary Streeter, tweeted: "At horse of year show. Common view is to get behind our PM and call a vet for Boris. Enough already."
The Business Minister Margot James has blamed "embittered" ex-ministers for any plotting against Mrs May. "That sort of thing is rife in politics," she said.
"There are some ex-cabinet ministers or ex-ministers who are extremely embittered individuals who just want to get their own back on the fact that they don't feel recognised."
But senior Conservatives are dismayed that the finale of a conference that was intended to launch a Tory fightback against Labour will now be remembered more for mishaps than new policies.
The Tories have also come in for criticism from musicians Calvin Harris and Florence Welch, of Florence and the Machine, who said they did not approve or support the party playing their songs at the conference.